"She was willing to work at (a scene) over and over and over again," Lileana Blain-Cruz, who directed Nyong'o in two Yale productions, told the News. "That kind of dedication and rigor in the craft was a gift."

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In "Doctor Faustus," Nyong'o "revealed a stunning vulnerability, inventiveness, and courageous open-heartedness," adds Blain-Cruz. "That is such a gift for a director."

Nyong’o with the “Uncle Vanya” cast. (Matt Otto)

Another Yale instructor Ron Van Lieu said Nyong'o "ran on an innate sense of truthfulness."

She was cast in the star-making "12 Years a Slave" a few weeks before her graduation from Yale. Since the Oscar nomination, the Brooklyn resident has been on a whirlwind press and awards-season tour.

Tim Brown and Lupita Nyong'o with members of the company of “The Winter's Tale.” (Joan Marcus)

Her neighbors on E. 17th St. near the Parade Grounds miss her.

"Oh, young Lupita, I remember her!" said Tito Tito, who works at the nearby Laundromat where Nyong'o was once a regular but now has not been seen in two months.

Lupita Nyong'o in another Yale School of Drama production. (T. Charles Erickson)